GoAngelo/Twitter
January 17, 2021, 9:27 am
One of the stranger alliances during Donald Trump’s one-term presidency has been between the president himself and the CEO of MyPillow, Mike Lindell. Lindell has spoken at rallies for Trump, he was present at his inauguration, and clearly has had the president’s ear over the years.
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Most recently, he met with Trump following the attack on the Capitol to further ensure him the election was “stolen” (it was not) and that Trump actually won by over 10 million votes (he did not).
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Lindell was photographed outside the White House prior to the meeting, and the picture managed to capture one of the documents he brought along to show to Trump — one that suggested invoking the Insurrection Act and declare “martial law if necessary.”
That Lindell would be so willing to join in on this attack against democracy — especially after the physical attack on the Capitol that left five dead — had people calling for a boycott against his company.
But the saga hasn’t stopped there.
Right Side Broadcasting Network interviewed Lindell following his meeting with Trump to learn more about what transpired. Media Matters for America’s Angelo Carusone highlighted two clips from the sitdown that have now garnered even more negative attention for Lindell.
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In the first, Lindell says he told Trump that legally he could force Facebook and Twitter to reinstate all the user profiles that have been purged. Now, obviously Trump has been banned from Twitter, and the social media platform also purged some 70,000 pages that were spreading hardcore insane QAnon conspiracy theories and neo-Nazi outlooks.
“My friends have lost their platforms that they rely on [for] their livings,” Lindell lamented. “There’s people that have podcasts that, that’s their whole living.”
He went on to say that while Trump liked the idea, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien shut it down because it would “upset the left.”
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“Upset the left?! I mean, what do you mean ‘upset the left?’” Lindell protested. “How would they like to get suppressed?”
The other clip is even more ridiculous, with Lindell claiming the president is “hidden from us” thanks to being “suppressed” — as if he can’t simply call a press conference and address the nation at any time, as if we haven’t had hundreds of years of presidents who didn’t have Twitter, or even television, to do their jobs.
“They’ve attacked my company,” Lindell continued. “They’ve attacked companies that I work with, who have dropped me now, because they’re trying to cancel me out.”
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Republicans are such big fans of capitalism until they realize people can boycott them if they don’t like the things they — or their CEOs — do, such as, I don’t know, suggesting the President of the United States institute martial law to maintain power despite losing an election.
And on that note, the clip ends with Lindell bemoaning what might happen “if [the Inauguration] goes through,” seemingly suggesting that Trump find a way to stop Joe Biden from being inaugurated, despite it being the will of the American people.
Further comments from the interview include Lindell essentially admitting that he hoped that increased military presence around D.C. and the White House will ultimately be in service of Trump refusing to give up the presidency and “maybe something’s gonna be done.”
He also continued to push the baseless claims that there have been widespread voter fraud, insisting that there’s proof but somehow it just keeps not being shared with…anyone.
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The repetitiveness of right-wing conspiracy theorists clinging to these claims is exhausting — and clearly has resulted in an uprising of violence already. That anyone would continue pushing them, and pushing for another uprising of any sort, any direct threat to democracy, at this point is more than enough reason to boycott their company. It’s not cancel culture, it’s consequences.
*First Published: January 17, 2021, 9:27 am
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